Department of East-West Psychology

Students and graduates of our program have published articles in journals such as Asian Philosophy, Journal of Analytical Psychology, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, Psychosis, ReVision, Archai: The Journal of Archetypal Cosmology, Journal of East-West Psychology, Journal of Child and Family Studies, and Somatics.

Graduates have also worked as associate managing editors and book review editors with the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies.

Students in our program have in recent years presented at professional conferences such as the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, the American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention, the Society of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology Meeting (APA Division 24), ITP Conference on Spirituality and Psychology, International Conference on the Teaching of Psychology, the International Conference on Expressive Arts (Lima, Peru), The International Conference on the Teaching of Psychology, The International Conference on Learning, and the Daimonic Imagination Conference (University of Kent, UK).

We offer the option of an accelerated M.A./Ph.D. to students deemed capable of advanced and accelerated academic work.

To be eligible, students must:

• Complete all of their M.A. in EWP courses for letter grades instead of pass/no pass
• Have a GPA of at least 3.7
• Demonstrate Ph.D.-level writing and research skills
• Possess superior self-direction and psychological maturity for Ph.D. work
• Have a clear and workable dissertation topic, as determined by the admissions committee of the EWP Department

Additionally, students must submit:

• A goal statement
• A graduate transcript

Faculty will review all applicant materials.

The Ph.D. curriculum the student will be admitted under is determined as follows:

• Applicants are eligible to be considered for the 27-unit curriculum if they have a GPA of 3.7 or above in their M.A. in EWP.
• Applicants are eligible to be considered for the 18–24-unit curriculum if they have a GPA of 3.8 or above in the M.A. in EWP and have submitted a 1,000–5,000-word research proposal demonstrating the following:
  • Clarity of research objectives
  • Knowledge of foundational literature in the field of inquiry
  • Appropriateness of the method of inquiry
  • Originality of the proposal
  • Clarity of articulation of the proposal
  • Faculty assessment of readiness for the dissertation process based on superior academic research and writing skills demonstrated throughout the M.A.

In recent years, our students have won numerous scholarships in support of their research, including the Cultural Integration Fellowship's Integral scholarship, the Esalen scholarship, the Kranzke scholarship, the Student Alliance Scholarship for Social Justice Research, and the Baumann scholarship.

Graduates have also worked as associate managing editors and book review editors with the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies.

The roots of our program go back to 1968, when CIIS was founded. Originally, our school was called the California Institute of Asian Studies, and students there earned degrees in East-West comparative studies, focusing on philosophy, psychology, religion, and other fields.

Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri, founder of the Institute, emphasized the need for connecting psychology and spirituality, based on his own experiences and observations. He also derived inspiration from Sri Aurobindo, a modern Indian philosopher-mystic, who said that "yoga is nothing but practical psychology." Dr. Chaudhuri understood that spiritual and psychological development were inextricably connected, and that Western psychology could benefit from studying sacred psychologies embedded in Eastern spiritual traditions.

Dr. Chaudhuri intended East-West Psychology as an experiment. He was interested in what transformative alchemies of learning and practice might emerge in studies that bridged East and West. Dr. Chaudhuri taught that transformation is essentially experimental, an ongoing work of becoming. To remain viable, to grow to its full stature, every living being must adapt to the demands of its time while remaining true to its origins, values, and identity.

In 1975, East-West Psychology became a separate department, co-directed by Mary Oliver Tasch and Hilary Anderson. In the mid to late 1970s, various courses were taught in areas such as Asian psychology, yoga psychology, Buddhist psychology, integral psychology, archetypal psychology, parapsychology, humanistic and transpersonal psychologies. Meditation, tantra, mysticism, and altered states of consciousness were introduced by various faculty including Dr. Chaudhuri, Kimberly Mckell, Mary Tasch, Hilary Anderson, Rammurti Mishra, Ralph Metzner, and others.

Yes! Here are a few publications by our graduates:

The Helping Professional's Guide to End-of-Life Care: Practical Tools for Emotional, Social, & Spiritual Support for the Dying. (New Harbinger Publications, 2012) by Alessandra Strada Ph.D.

Emerging Earth: The Revealed Philosophy of the Evolution of Consciousness (SUNY Press, 2009) by Craig Bowman, Ph.D. '06

So What? Now What? The Anthropology of Consciousness Addresses a World in Crisis (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2009) co-edited by Tina Fields, Ph.D. '01

Relational Sandplay Therapy (Mustard Seed Press, 2005) by Linda Cunningham, Ph.D. '05